In the case of pressure sensors which are used, for example, on the gas tanks of motor vehicles, molded seals are used to simplify installation of the pressure sensor. These molded seals not only provide a seal for the mechanical interface between the pressure sensor and its installation hole in a wall, but also a means for mounting the pressure sensor in the installation location. The use of a molded seal makes it possible to avoid complex mounting of the pressure sensor via a mounting flange. U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,924 describes a pressure sensor which is mounted in an installation hole via a molded seal. The pressure sensor includes a sensor head and a slender sensor stem formed thereon, in which a channel is provided. A sensor foot designed with a larger diameter is situated at the end of the sensor stem facing away from the sensor head. In mounting the molded seal on the sensor stem, a through opening in the molded seal is widened to the extent that the sensor foot at the lower end of the sensor stem passes through the opening in the molded seal, which is made of an elastic material, and, after passage of the sensor foot, the molded seal is accommodated on the sensor stem of the pressure sensor in a form locked manner, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,924. The molded seal according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,924 has a widened collar on its bottom as well as multiple sealing lips provided on its outer circumferential surface.
The disadvantage of the pressure sensor known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,924 is the fact that, due to the plunger foot designed with an enlarged diameter at the lower end of the sensor stem, burr free manufacture of this sensor stem is difficult. This is due to the fact that the sensor component, which is generally manufactured as a built in component by plastic injection molding and includes a sensor head, stem and foot, must be removed from two mold halves, and an undercut inevitably forms between the elongated sensor stem and the sensor foot, which is designed with a larger diameter. When mounting the pressure sensor having the molded seal placed on the sensor stem in the installation hole, e.g., on the gas tank of a motor vehicle, there is the danger of the molded seal becoming compressed on the slender sensor stem on passing the protrusion designed with an enlarged diameter at the lower end of the molded seal. If the molded seal made of an elastic material is compressed on the sensor stem, the installation hole, e.g., on the gas tank of a motor vehicle, is not adequately sealed. The method known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,924 for mounting a pressure sensor having a molded seal in an installation hole does not achieve a completely satisfactory state, due to the disadvantages described above.